Rating: 
Summary: literature and history at its finest
Review: A masterpiece of world literature. Anyone remotely interested in twentieth century history should read Churchill's accounts of WWI and WWII. Churchill begins the Second World War by noting that the "volumes [are] a continuation of the story of the First World War...set out in The World Crisis, The Eastern Front, and The Aftermath". As great as the Second World War is in scope and insight, it is even greater when considered together with his treatment of WWI. It is a pity his account of WWI and its aftermath are currently no longer in print, available only through university libraries and sellers of rare books (if any publishers are reading, I beg them to consider republishing his accounts of WWI). Churchill's chronicles of WWI and WWII are a invaluable account of the incomprehensible turmoil that characterized the first half of the 20th century. The scope of this literary achievement is made even more precious and amazing when one considers the firsthand perspective given by Churchill. During both wars, he occupied important government roles, putting him in a unique position to chronicle events during that era. The World Crisis, The Eastern Front, The Aftermath, and the volumes of the Second World War are personal memoirs as much as monumental histories. They are compelling on many levels, the stories of many through one.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: A true masterpiece by a truly great man. Noone can possibly write better prose
Rating:
Summary: The whole story, by someone who was privy to it all
Review: All the histories I've ever read of the war, were written by people who, either studied the war, or participated in it, and would write from memory. All of the authors, whether historians or participants,were handicapped by the lack of the whole picture. What was the leadership thinking when this or that event happened? What did they know? It is always either second hand information, or the facts are unobtainable.
In this magnum opus, a leader, privy to all the decisions and military secrets, tells the whole story in first person singular.
The special relationship between himself (former Naval Person) and the American President FDR, is illustrated in a series of letters that appear throughout the work, and offer an insightful window on President Roosevelt's mind and intentions, that were at the time hidden from U.S. public opinion, and, to this day, mostly unknown.
Personal anecdotes, written with outstanding wit, bring the Prime Minister down to a human level, joining the statesman with the artist and the hedonist who, on being offered to "have some drinks" by Stalin responds "I am always in favor of such a policy"
If all of the above wasn't enough, the writing is of such quality and clarity, that I would recommnend it, if only for the delectation on the proper use of the English language.
Be warned however, reading of this book may cause uncontrollable purchases of Sir Winston's other works, ...
Rating:
Summary: A Master in Politics and Literature
Review: Best book regarding Second World War. Even William Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich has to move and give a place on your bookshelf. The Easton Press Edition is the best.
Rating:
Summary: A classic for the next millennium
Review: Churchill won the Nobel Prize for Literature, and it was largely on the strength of this work. It has been published many times, but ought to be reviewed as a set. Volume One of this set, "The Gathering Storm", is scarier than any horror movie ever filmed. Watch helplessly as decent people are drawn into the black hole of the worst tragedy that humankind has ever found itself in. You will notice that I ended this last sentence with a proposition. This reminds me of a story - one day someone nudged the Prime Minister and reminded him that he, too, had committed this offense against grammatical decency. Churchill's reported response was "This is arrant pedantry, up with which I shall not put."
Rating:
Summary: Historical accuracy and personal experience
Review: Churchill's book is really astonishing, not only for the sheer size, but for the vast expand of knowledge displayed and the personal experience behind it. Churchill includes hundreds of documents and thus gives ample proof of what he writes. His strongest moments are his criticism of British appeasement policy and the account of 1940/41, where his will to survive and his pertinacity can still be felt through the pages. His personal experience is always there, though he refrains from giving his readers too many anecdotes. In spite of the fact the everything was written very shortly after the war, most things are quite accurate, though the pages on Nazi Germany are not always enlightened. But - being German - I have never felt any hatred towards my people as a whole and one can well join in with his disgust of Germany at that time. The book, or rather books, never bore. An absolute masterpiece of historical writing.
Rating:
Summary: I've read this book so many times
Review: Future generations will be most thankful that we had as Prime Minister of Britain, Winston Churchill. Not only for his leadership, which undoubtedly saved the world from Nazism, but also because of his memoirs. Reading this book, it felt like I was actually there, feeling the tension as Hitler prepared on new conquests, the revulsion as France & Britain allowed Germany to destroy Czechoslavakia, the disbelief as neutral countries, USSR,Belgium, Netherlands, Norway etc, clung to their neutrality as it meant anything to Hitler, admiration for the British people as they resisted such overwhelming odds at great cost, and triumph as the Grand Alliance combines to crush Germany. Also there are so many parts of the book which describe so vividly so many great moments, such as when Churchill first meets Stalin. A top read!
Rating:
Summary: Captivating is an understatement
Review: I have not read a series of books of such volume that have captivated me to such a great level. The nuances in politics and millitary, let alone the human element Churchill adds in here and makes these books of an epic quality that cannot be surpassed. I loved my paperback volumes so much that now I have found and bought an old set of the hardcovers which came out years ago. Really fabulous.
Rating:
Summary: A priceless piece of history, a must read series of books.
Review: I wholeheartedly recommend this series of books Volume 1 through 6. It is a story about a nation and its representatives as they stood against adversity and defeat. Despite of some minor imperfections which is a part of being human,Winston churchill displayed an abundance of qualities that bring out the finest in all of us. This series is about the human drama that pitched the values of democracy against dictatorship. Dictatorships lost, not because they were weak in weapons or men but because they lacked the resolve or focus that accompanies a righteous cause.One could draw lessons to improve our own lives from this inspirational work about triumph of the human spirit.
Rating: 
Summary: Sir Winston spins history & covers his derriere
Review: It amazes me that this collection of wartime memoirs continues to be held up as an example of Great History & Great Literature. I hope the tendency to do so becomes less & less commonplace as a new generation that never knew Churchill comes to the fore. It seems as though two or three generations, both British and American, becames members of the First Church of Saint Winston, and Saint Winston casts a long shadow. To question his competence or motives was simply taboo for years & years. Only recently have scholars dared to impugn Churchill's memory. As to the veracity of the history, I can only say that it is as good as most memoirs. Of course, memoirs by their very nature are suspect & unreliable as historical source material, and Churchill is no more guilty of spinning history than have been countless other writers of memoirs. Churchill made an entire career out promoting himself through writing in the years leading up to his stint with the Admirality. Later, he would devote his energies to dressing up his late father's reputation for posterity in a wholly unobjective biography/hagiography, and then put his own unique spin on Britain's role in winning World War II (which was of course, Churchill tells us, due to his own great leadership). Suffice it to say, reading these books is essential to any serious study of World War II, but only in concert with other, more objective works. However, anyone who thinks this is great writing has to be out of his mind! For those who don't know, Churchill wrote exactly like he delivered speeches in Parliament as a young man. Parliamentary speaking during the late Victorian & Edwardian eras was something of an art form, which very much emphasized style over substance. The ability to expound at length, displaying mastery over the language, could make or break the oratorical career of a young MP. Whether or not you were actually saying anything substantial was truly beside the point; Churchill embraced this approach and adhered to it for the rest of his days, both in his speeches and his writings. Why describe an event in one page when you can just as easily do it in ten pages, asks Sir Winston. His prose flows effortlessly, page after page after page, not a grammatical error to be found. It is written beautifully, but it is not beautiful writing --- it is simply self-indulgence. Personally, I find his rather prolix stylings to be hard to endure, but I guess (for the time being) I am in the minority. I guess we will see how things change in the next twenty years or so.
|
